Josiah Martin

Martin, Josiah, 1737–86, British colonial governor, b. West Indies. An army officer, he had attained the rank of lieutenant colonel when he was appointed governor of North Carolina in 1771. He established cordial relations with the leaders of the Regulator movement on the frontier but clashed with the assembly over the collection of taxes and court regulations. He unsuccessfully attempted to organize the Loyalists of the colony to resist the American Revolution. When his Loyalist Highlanders were defeated (1776) and the Revolution became general, he left the colony. Later he took part in the attack on Charleston and was an adviser to generals Clinton and Cornwallis. He returned to England in 1781.